


Cure for Sadness

by Jathis



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Depression, Drowning, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Genderfluid Character, M/M, Period Typical Attitudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22410997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: Tom and Dick turn to a doctor for help with Stanley’s depression.
Relationships: LeFou & Stanley (Disney: Beauty and the Beast), LeFou/Stanley (Disney: Beauty and the Beast)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 2





	Cure for Sadness

**Author's Note:**

> This is genuinely something they thought back then would somehow cure people with depression; almost drowning them.

His ankles and wrists were tied together tight enough that the rope was cutting into his skin. They had stripped him of everything but his underclothes, leaving him one small piece of fabric for modesty. They were holding his arms so tightly and he could see that the large tub they were bringing him to was filled with ice filled water and he wanted to scream.

They held him down under the water. His back slammed against the bottom of the tub and those hands held him as he tried to thrash. His shivering hands clawed at whatever he could reach but there was nothing he could do.

His lungs were burning. He was going to die in here. He was going to die unclothed and tied up in a tub of ice water in a hospital. He wanted to sob.

When they suddenly pulled him up he let out a loud gasp, chest heaving as he tried to suck up as much air into his pained body as possible. The doctor brushed his hair off of his face to look at him and he looked at him with wide terrified eyes. “S'll vous plaît, monsieur! Arrêter!”

The doctor sighed and shook his head. “Still not cured. Put him back under,” he directed.

“Non! Arrêter! Arrêter! Arrê..!” His words were cut off as he was slammed back under the freezing water, the air bursting out of his open mouth.

“THAT AINT GONNA HAPPEN!”

Stanley blinked, pulled from his own head by Dick’s shouting. He had fallen into one of his spells of prolonged sadness and inability to do anything but cry and sleep. Dick and Tom tried everything they could but had called for the doctor when Stanley’s mood had not changed in several days, worried that the young man was sick and would waste away. The doctor had looked Stanley over and then led Tom and Dick out of Stanley’s room to talk.

He had listened as best as he could against the door. The doctor was talking about the treatment for his condition in great detail to the two men who had found him several years ago. He spoke about binding and almost drowning and Stanley’s heart pounded in his ears as his body urged him to run and never look back.

“Monsieur, I assure you that this treatment has shown great success in patients with this kind of constant melancholy! It makes their body and brain have a better appreciation for life after the sensation of almost drowning and..!”

Stanley heard shouting and a short scuffle. He stepped out of his room, blinking as he watched Dick finish throwing the doctor out of the house before Tom slammed the door shut.

The two men saw him and sighed. Tom approached first, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know what these melancholy spells are...but there’s no way we’d allow anyone to do that to you, foundling.”

“We’ll just find another way to help,” Dick agreed. “So...what do you want to do, foundling?”

“...bath?” Stanley croaked.

“I’ll go heat up the water,” Tom said with a nod.

Dick ruffled his hair gently in comfort and to his surprise, Stanley found that he was feeling a little better and much safer now.

***

He sat on a stool behind Stanley in the bathtub. His sleeves and breeches were rolled up to avoid getting them soaking wet. Lefou slowly raised the sopping wet cloth over Stanley’s head. He wrung it out, pouring soap and water over his spouse’s head. He helped Stanley brush their hair out of their eyes, laughing softly as they blew water out of their nostrils. “Sorry, my love,” he said.

Stanley hummed softly in reply. They tilted their head against Lefou’s fingers when they brushed over their cheek, eyes fluttering at the contact. “Merci,” they murmured, voice a little hoarse from disuse. They had gotten upset after an accident with a roll of expensive fabric ended with their mother Garderobe having to reimburse the client and had entered their state of melancholy shortly afterwards. Their mother insisted that anyone could have made the mistake of dying the fabric dark blue instead of green but Stanley’s need to always do their best had dragged them into this depressive spell.

Stanley hadn’t washed or even attempted to do their hair in a week and a half. It was not until they heard Jeanne-Marie whimpering that her maman was dying that they realized they needed to try and pull themselves back together.

The first thing was to ask Lefou to help them take a bath and wash their hair.

“So I spoke with your maman this afternoon,” Lefou began. He paused when he felt Stanley tense up and he shook his head as he massaged the sides of their neck the way he knew they liked it. “Non, it’s alright! She ended up finding another client who wanted that color and fabric for a dress! So really, you helped save her time for this order! That’s good, isn’t it?”

“I did?” Stanley asked, looking over their shoulder at Lefou in surprise.

“Oui, you did!” He watched as their mouth twitched slowly into a smile and he hugged Stanley close, pressing a kiss to their temple and cheek. “Mon cher et ma cherie…” he hummed.

Stanley held Lefou close, nuzzling their cheeks together in affection. They felt safe with Lefou and knew they would always be safe with him.


End file.
